


Misc Drabbles

by HealthInspector



Series: PMD Writings [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Canon: Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2020-02-16 01:20:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18681223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HealthInspector/pseuds/HealthInspector
Summary: Random writing prompt responses/misc stories I came up with. Too short for their own individual posts, so I threw them in here.





	1. A Stupid Mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Mistaking an Oren berry for an Oran berry at that one, crucial moment it was needed.

"What do you mean, you're about to pass out?!"

Swaying lightly on his feet, the Snivy murmured, "I dunno. I just reached into the bag and ate an Oran berry, and..."

His Fennekin partner anxiously shifted from one foot to the other. She checked their immediate surroundings for feral Pokemon, then shouted, "And? C'mon, Chord! Tell me what's going on!"

"Dunno." Chord shook his head, then continued, "I'm just so tired, Melody..."

Melody furrowed her brow, her massive ears leaning forward. Without warning, she lurched backwards as her eyes widened. She exclaimed, "Hold on! Remember that funny-looking berry we picked up earlier?"

Chord squinted at her. "Yeah?"

"Did you eat it?!"

He scoffed. "No, of course not. How could I be that stupid?"

She moved closer to the Snivy, whose tail was drooping, along with his eyelids. Her ears twitching, she stared at his face. After a few seconds, she declared, "You ate the berry."

He blushed and looked away. "So what if I did?"

"It was an Oren berry! Those things are poisonous!" Melody's fluffy ears flicked to and fro as she continued, "I told you not to eat it, you idiot!"

Despite his sleepy demeanor, Chord visibly bristled, folding his stubby arms in defiance. "Don't call me an idiot! I was hungry, and we had a berry in our bag! Is it really that big of a stretch to eat it?"

Melody's ears leaned forward as she replied, "Yeah, if said berry is deadly poisonous! Next time, think before you eat something off of the ground!"

The Snivy spread his arms out and gestured at the items strewn on the floor around them. He whined, "We eat stuff off the ground all the time, Melody! It's worked out fine whenever we-" Before he could finish his sentence, Chord's eyes finally shut, and he collapsed onto the floor in a heap.

Melody gave a long, drawn-out sigh. "What am I going to do with you, Chord?" Rummaging through her bag, she fished out an Escape Orb and set it on the stone floor next to her. As she placed her paw on Chord's head, she activated the orb with a gentle press, and a pillar of blue light began to form around them. As the light grew brighter, Melody muttered, "I knew we shouldn't have skipped breakfast."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did lots of stupid stuff during my playthroughs of Super. Even though fake berries aren't in Super, I'd like to think that Chord would regularly mix them up with the real ones, much to Melody's frustration.


	2. Holiday Spirit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: How do you and your partner/Guild spend the holidays?

Winter wraps Serene Village in a blanket of snow and cold. The surrounding forest's trees have their empty branches dragged down a solid inch or two of snow, whlie the village itself is buried under little snowflakes that seemingly cannot stop falling. The pristine layer of snow is broken up by a set of small footprints, their owner hurrying along the path to reach Kecleon's shop before the sun rises.

Melody has been planning this for a week or two, but forgot about it until entirely the night before. Typical. She had to sneak out the window again. She doesn't really know what Chord means when he talks about "Christmas", "Hannukah", or "Kwanzaa", but the New Year's holiday certainly rings a bell, so she chose that celebration to enact her plan on.

The idea of gift-giving is not particularly new to Melody, but it is certainly new to limit the action to specific dates. Apparently, back where Chord came from, people would only give gifts on their birthdays, or specific dates marked out for it. That's nothing like her world, where people give gifts whenever they feel like it. Find a neat scarf? Gift it! Come across a patch of delicious berries? Share them! Kangaskhan inexplicably decides to give you an extra drink? Gift that, too! When Melody inquired about the humans' limitations around gift-giving, Chord had few answers.

"So, why the 25th, exactly?" Melody had asked, sitting in Chord's room after having invaded Nuzleaf's house to get out of the blustering blizzard.

Chord looked up from the history book he had borrowed from Espurr, the small candle's flickering light barely illuminating the pages. He stared off into space for a minute, seemingly rummaging through whatever was left of his human memories. He tentatively started explaining, though he didn't seem to know much, judging by his slowed, halting speech. "I...think someone was born on that day. Someone who was..." He paused, sifting through conflicting thoughts and ideas. "He was either hated or loved. I'm not sure which."

Melody tilted her head to the side, her ears leaning forward. "So what's that got to do with gift giving?"

"I dunno. Maybe he introduced the concept?"

Melody chortled, an incredulous tone coloring her voice. "Maybe he introduced the concept of gift-giving to your entire species? Imagine: literally no one knows anything about gifts, and then some guy comes along, and all of a sudden, they give gifts to each other."

Chord exhaled through his nose slightly harder than usual, then returned to his book.

While his explanations had cleared up exactly nothing about the holidays' origins, Melody had still decided to follow one of their customs. After all, Chord has been seeming more and more homesick, these days. He's quieter than usual, often lost in thought with a distant longing in his eyes. This custom of gift-giving should cheer him up; that is, if she manages to actually get the gift. Is Kecleon open on New Year's Eve? Does he even have anyone to celebrate with? Maybe he celebrates with all the Kecleons she found in the dungeons.

But as Melody approaches the plaza, her inner flame serving as an excellent defense against the bitter cold, she finds that Kecleon's shop is still open, despite the freezing wind threatening to blow his goods away, and the omnipresent snow forcing him to regularly clean off his countertop. Has he even had a single customer? The sun isn't even up yet! Every other shop is closed. Even Kangaskhan's cafe's doors are tightly shut, a bastion against the onslaught of tiny "frozen water molecules", as Chord described them. As Melody approaches, Kecleon greets her with his usual eagerness, despite the unpleasant conditions.

"Ah, good morning, Melody! Wonderful weather, isn't it?"

Melody quietly snickers, though this causes her to accidentally jet little spurts of flame from her nose. She should probably tone down her inner fire, lest she burn down his countertop again. After hastily apologizing, she asks him, "Do you sell books?"

Kecleon replies in a practiced and smooth manner. "Of course! I sell short books, large books, fiction, non-fiction, fantasy-"

Melody cuts him off before he can go off on a tangent. "Okay, cool. Do you have history books? Specifically, ones about this village?"

"Yes, of course." Kecleon vanishes beneath his counter, and several _clunks_ , followed by grumbles, reach Melody from down below. Eventually, he pops back up, a thick tome in his grasp. It's battered and worn, its spine wrinkled and its cover completely covered in smudged ink and spiderweb cracks. But as she takes a look inside, she finds that the pages are in relatively good condition. There's a dog-eared page here and there, but it's still fine. At least, it will be if she doesn't let any snow ruin the pages.

Another flurry of snow surrounds the two, and Melody has had just about enough of being outside in this weather. Being a fire-type is cool and all, but she still appreciates not being in the freezing cold. Once she gets back home, she'll have to curl up next to the fireplace for a solid hour or two just to get her fur dry. She throws some coins onto the counter and sprints off, the book clutched in her fangs just hard enough to keep it from falling out. Ugh, she'll have to clean it later. Why can't she have arms, too?

Melody hurls the book through the open window with a heavy turn of her neck, then scrambles in after it, shutting the window after her. Some snow has already occupied a small section of the floor, but she scares it off with carefully controlled spurts of flame. She passes by the book, open and forlorn in the corner, and plops down on her bed. Tomorrow, she'll have to clean the book, then "wrap" it (note: figure out what wrapping is), then finally gift it whenever she runs into Chord. Melody still can't really make sense of limiting gift giving, but she can make sense of cheering up a friend. And that's exactly what she plans to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't research the origins of Christmas beyond a cursory Wikipedia search, so there's bound to be an error in there.


	3. Birthday Bandit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Response to this prompt: "You and your partner must apprehend an outlaw who goes to birthday parties and blows out the candles before the Pokémon whose birthday it is can"  
> Yes, that's the actual prompt. No, I don't fully understand it, either.

* * *

Aster held his head in his hands. "So, let me get this straight." He shot Vallea an incredulous look. "We're supposed to hunt down an outlaw."

Vallea stared back, a smug grin on her face. "Yep."

"The outlaw is a Pidgeot."

"Yep."

"And he blows out the candles at birthday parties."

Vallea stifled a chortle. "Yep."

Aster let out an impressive groan as his leafy tail sank. "This is ridiculous. Remind me again why we joined the Expedition Society?"

"Oh, quit whining." Vallea grinned and struck a pose, her aura tassels shaking wildly. "If we apprehend this outlaw, we'll be a hero to all children! Just imagine it! 'Vallea and Aster, the savior of all birthdays!'"

Aster slowly sat down, his eyes devoid of hope. "You've gotta be kidding."

Vallea jumped in front of him. Leaning over him, she exclaimed, "C'mon, it'll be fun! At least we got an easy job today. Imagine having to hunt down a Salamence again."

"Don't remind me." Aster reached into his satchel and pulled out the Connection Orb. He turned it on with the flick of a switch, and a holographic constellation of job requests popped up before him. Flipping through the menus, he asked, "Are there any other jobs we can take?"

Vallea stomped over and snatched the orb from his hands. "Oh, no you don't. We're doing this job. Come on, get up!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him upright. Ignoring his mumbled protest, she shouted, "We're gonna save all the birthdays, Aster! And maybe we'll get some cake as a reward!"

Aster's tail perked up. "Wait, cake?"

"Yep." Vallea shot him another smug grin. "If we catch the Pidgeot in the act, we might get some of the birthday cake! I'm sure the kids will be so grateful, they'll be perfectly willing to share their birthday cake with a couple of heroes. After the candles are blown out, of course."

Aster pressed his hand against his chin, his eyes narrowed. "If we want to catch him in the act, we'll have to attend a birthday party. Do you know of any birthdays coming up?"

"Well, now that you mention it, my birthday is tomorrow."

Aster's eyes widened. "Hold up, your birthday's tomorrow?!"

Vallea cocked her head, her tassels hanging limply. "Yeah. I told you a week ago, remember?"

"Ohh, no. Ohhhh..." Aster hurriedly closed his satchel and started running down the street.

Vallea chuckled to herself. "Where you going?"

"Nowhere important!" Aster shouted over his shoulder, "Just sit tight for a few minutes! I'll be right back!"

Vallea shook her head in amusement, then she sat down on the cobble road. She reached into her bag and checked for the money pouch. Sure enough, it was still there, right where they left it. Aster would have a hard time buying a gift without any money. As she got back up, she yelled, "Hold on! Aster!! You forgot something!"

But her Treecko partner was already lost in the busy streets. Vallea sighed, then sprinted into the crowds of Pokemon, her money pouch held close against her chest. She'll find him eventually. She always does.


	4. Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Water."  
> Stretch goal (200 words): "Wave."  
> Stretch goal (400 words): "Sky."

The river cutting through Serene Village had always been Aster’s favorite spot to relax. Even though the Treecko was technically a Grass type, he typically enjoyed cool weather more than hot. In this summer heat, he greatly appreciated the river’s cool water. All the way from Revelation Mountain, frigid ice melted and meandered down the steep cliffs to his little village.

Today was especially hot. The sun pounded against Aster's head as he sat in the dirt near the river. His satchel lay idly by his side. Now and again, the river would surge towards the Treecko and blanket his feet in cold water. He leaned back, his eyes closed.

No one else was outside. It was probably too hot for them, so they opted to spend the day indoors. Aster didn’t blame them. He was only outside because he agreed to meet someone here, near the river. But still, he liked this quiet. The only sounds that reached him were the wind's gentle whispers, and the river’s waves burbling. A smile teased the corners of his mouth, and he eventually indulged it. Here, it was quiet. Here, he was at peace.

“ASTER!” A high, grating shout pounded against Aster’s ears. His eyes jolted open. He turned to find the source of the shout: a Riolu, her tassels bouncing wildly as she ran towards him.

He was briefly tempted to simply ignore her, but only briefly. He lazily waved at her. “Hey, Vallea. Took you long enough.”

Vallea arrived, gasping for air.  After several seconds, she caught her breath enough to say, “Sorry I’m late! Pops just gave me the lecture to end all lectures.” She unceremoniously plopped herself down next to Aster.

Aster snickered. “What did you do this time?”

She folded her arms. “Nothing!”

“Then why’d he go and lecture you?”

“I don't know! He kept saying something about ‘using my time wisely’, or something along those lines.”

Aster pressed a hand to his chin, his eyes narrowed. “But it’s summer vacation. This time was made to be wasted.”

“Exactly!” Vallea let out a great sigh and fell onto her back.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Aster staring at the river and Vallea gazing into the sky. He closed his eyes, relishing the river’s gentle sounds. The water murmured as it flowed over his feet. The gentle cold provided a much-needed relief from the muggy heat.

Of course, Vallea quickly found something to say. From the ground, she muttered, “I don’t know what he’s so worked up about, anyways. It's not as though I’m robbing banks, or anything like that.”

Despite his best efforts, a groan escaped Aster’s mouth. Looking down at her, he grumbled, “No, we’re only exploring wild and uncivilized Mystery Dungeons, which contain dangerous Pokemon and traps. Totally safe and normal.”

Vallea sat up, supporting herself with one arm. “But it is normal! There’s a whole-”

“There’s a society dedicated to exploring dungeons, yes, I know,” Aster said. Vallea opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, he continued, “And I know we're Junior members of it. You’ve only been going on about it for the last week.”

Vallea tilted her head, her brow furrowed. “So what's the problem?”

“I dunno. It just seems…needlessly dangerous, I guess.”

“Not really.” Vallea stared into space for a few seconds. “Oh, right! Speaking of, you find any requests?”

After a few seconds of thought, Aster quietly sighed. “I knew I forgot something. Come on, let's take a look.” Aster reached into his bag and pulled out the Expedition Gadget. With the press of a button, his time for relaxation was over.


	5. Facing His Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aster and Vallea argue over who should take the lead in a dungeon.

Elegant Gorge had seemed friendly at first. After all, the Mystery Dungeon was only “some ramshackle road between two mountains,” as Buizel had elegantly put it. But as Aster and Vallea drew closer, the locale seemed to emanate an intimidating aura. The mountains towered on both sides, blocking out the sun. Only small, scattered clumps of yellow grass grew in the shadows. A frigid wind blustered down the road and straight through the two shivering Pokemon.

At least they were at the base of the mountains. Aster always hated heights. He took a good look at the mountain on the left. A sloped wall of dark grey stone stretched up to the sky. If he squinted, he could just barely make out a snowy tip through the dark grey clouds.

Vallea adjusted the satchel on her shoulder and muttered, “Something isn’t entirely right here. Where are all the Pokemon? There would normally be loads of them by now, trying to beat us up.”

“Dunno. Maybe they took the day off?” Aster checked behind him, just in case. No one was there.

“Hmm. Any sign of the Marill we’re looking for?”

“None yet.” The road beared no footprints or tracks of any sort, and the mountains betrayed no signs of Pokemon passing through.

Vallea took off her satchel and opened it. Rummaging through the bag, she said, “Okay. Here’s the plan. I’ll take point, and you hit them from afar with your Dragon Breath.” She closed the bag, a looplet worn on her wrist.

Aster shook his head. “Nah, I’ll take point. I’ve got Mega Drain, remember? I’ll use it to keep myself up.”

Vallea tilted her head. Adjusting the looplet, she replied, “No way. I’m more suited to taking the lead. I’ve got a Defense Looplet and everything. The Pokemon here will be no match for me. Isn’t that right?!” She cupped her paws around her mouth and shouted, “You're all just too scared to fight me, aren't you? Come and get me!”

Aster clamped a hand over her mouth. “Shut up! The last thing we need right now is for them to know where we are!” He waited a few seconds to ensure her silence, then removed his hand.

Vallea wiped her mouth with the back of her arm, then sighed, “Okay, fine. But I still think this new looplet will help me out here.”

“Uh, no. That fancy looplet of yours won’t do you any good if they don’t use physical moves. I’ll go on ahead, like I always do.”

“No way. We don’t know what we’ll find around here! What if there’s Flying or Poison types? What will you do, then?”

He motioned towards his satchel. “I brought along all these wands for a reason.”

“Yeah, and you can use those wands from far away! I’m the Fighting type here. Getting in close is my specialty, remember? And it’s not as though I have a long-range move, like you do. Between us, you’re more suited to ranged combat!”

“Yeah, but…” Aster trailed off.

“But what?”

He looked away. Sighing, he muttered, “Fine. Take the lead.” He gestured in a manner resembling an usher. “Go on.”

Vallea furrowed her brow. “Wait, this is the part where you try to make me feel bad, isn’t it?” Folding her arms, she declared, “Well, it isn’t gonna work! I’ll take the lead, and I’ll be proud of it!” With that, Vallea began stomping down the path.

As Aster followed, he said, “Don’t go too far ahead. We don't know where these Pokemon might be hiding.”

WIthout turning around, Vallea replied, “Don’t be such a worrywart! I’m sure if anything goes wrong, you’ll be right here to bail me out!”

Aster gave a groan rivaling that of a Rhydon. Looking around, he found that, if anything, the mountains had only grown taller. The shadows seemed to hide all sorts of monsters. He walked a little closer to Vallea’s side.

She turned to face him, a little grin plastered on her face. “You’re not scared, are you?”

“’Course not. I’m just taking the most optimal position.”

“I thought I would take the lead, and you would follow up from behind me?” Vallea’s voice smiled almost as much as she did.

Aster folded his arms. “Well, I made the executive decision that we’re both taking the lead, now.”

“Whatever you say.”

The two walked boldly (or gingerly, in Aster's case) into the shadows, ready for anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk what this is, tbh  
> just felt like writing something, so here it is


	6. "Harmony"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vallea decides on the recipient of her Harmony Scarf.
> 
> Prompt: September 14 (Scenery Saturday): [Item] has been special to [Character] since childhood. Even now, it’s one of their most prized possessions. (100 words)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during the earlygame of Super.

"Harmony Scarf". With a name like that, one would expect the scarf to be an ornate, elegant thing. But Vallea’s Harmony Scarves were rather ordinary. There were two of them, and they were soft, green, patterned pieces of fabric. She’d had them for as long as she could remember.

Her father had told her, “Keep one for yourself, and give the other to someone important.” She had tried to give it to him, but he had just said, “No, not me. Someone you’ll spend your whole life with.”

At the time, she hadn't known what he meant. But now, she understood. A certain someone had given her a chance. He didn’t make fun of her like everyone else. Sure, he was kind of stupid sometimes, but he meant well. When she screwed things up, he helped her fix them. When she went on about her dreams and desires, he listened.

So she held out a Harmony Scarf to him. “I’ve decided,” she said. “Aster, I want you to have this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's block is a pain in the neck.


	7. How to Revive a Treecko

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (SMD SPOILERS)  
> Takes place immediately after destroying Dark Matter, and right before discovering the revived Tree of life.

The first thing Vallea felt was a dull ache on her back. The second thing she felt was the warm sun on her face. Opening her eyes, she found a bright blue sky shining down on her. The Riolu sat up and took a look around. The clearing was a mess. Rocks, dirt clumps, and uprooted plants lay scattered everywhere. No other Pokemon seemed to be nearby, save for…

Vallea’s eyes widened. “Aster!”

Her Treecko partner lay in a crumpled heap a few feet away, his scales covered in dirt and dust. He wasn’t moving. Vallea stumbled over on shaky legs, disregarding the aches and pains erupting across her body. It only took a few seconds to reach him. Those seconds felt like an eternity. 

“C’mon, Aster. Open your eyes. You’ve got to.”

But his eyes remained shut, and his aura was as unsteady as ever. Was he okay? He had to be, right? Shaking him did nothing. Maybe he was unconscious. Or maybe…

A terrible thought broke into Vallea’s mind. She tried lifting Aster, but he just sagged in her hold. She did her best to focus on his aura, but found it to be fading rapidly.

“You can’t be… dead? No. No!” Lifting Aster higher and leaning close to his ear, Vallea shouted, “Don’t go into the light! You hear me?! Don’t go yet!”

Her eyes scrunched shut, she held him closer. His head fell onto her shoulder, and his breathing tickled her neck.

Wait. He was breathing. Dead Pokemon didn’t breathe. And as Vallea figured that out, she heard a little groan come from the Treecko she held so dearly.

“Vallea…?” whispered Aster. His eyes were open, if only barely. He let out another groan, reaching up to grab his head. “I just had the weirdest dream…”

“But… you're okay?”

“I-I think so. Kinda hard to tell. After all, we just- Agh!”

Vallea had tightened her grip, pulling him into the strongest hug she could muster. “Oh, thank goodness,” she murmured. “Thank goodness! I don’t know what I would’ve done if you were dead.”

“Yeah. I’m okay. And I’m guessing you are, too?”

“Of course I am.”

Aster was silent for a few seconds, then he whimpered, “Could you let go of me? You're crushing my ribs.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

 


	8. Smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tried following the official word limit for a drabble: 100 words.

“Aha!” Vallea pointed at Aster and grinned. “So you _can_ smile!”

“What, did you think I couldn’t?”

“See, Pancham told me you had some freak accident when you were really little,” Vallea said, tugging at her tassels. “And that accident left you incapable of smiling.”

Aster scoffed. “And you believed him. Of course you did.”

“Well…yeah. Bad idea, I know. No need to rub it in.”

“I’m not rubbing anything in. You’re just too trusting, that's all.”

“I am not,” she said, stretching the last word into two syllables.

“Sure. Oh, look. Someone wrote ‘gullible’ on the tree trunk.” 


End file.
